Welcome to Richard-Pouw.com. My name is Richard Benjamin Pouw (1988, Purmerend, NL), and I am a molecular biologist trained in immunology. I currently work as Research Fellow with complement expertise at Sanquin Health Solutions in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and act as interim junior group leader of the Complement Research Group of the Department of Immunopathology at Sanquin Research, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
My research focusses on the human complement system and understanding its role in various diseases. I am currently working on various aspects of complement regulation, including both fluid-phase regulators (FH protein family) and membrane-bound regulators expressed by human cells. I do this from a fundamental perspective aiming to further characterise and elucidate the role of each complement regulator within the system, but also with a more translational aspect by assessing how complement regulators are contributing to disease.
During my PhD studies (Cum laude, 2018, University of Amsterdam), we discovered new antibodies with a new, possible therapeutic, effect; they potentiate and restore the function of human complement regulator FH. This could be beneficial for patients with decreased FH function (such as in aHUS). The antibodies are currently under development by Gemini Therapeutics.